Despite our national preoccupation with Hurricane Harvey the last week of August, several pickup trucks had a strong sales month when compared to August 2016. However, our guess is that September sales will more clearly show the effect the devastation in Texas and the Gulf Coast will have on new pickup purchases. We're guessing that the inventory of many dealerships in those states has been decimated by floodwaters and that those dealers are already working with manufacturers to get more pickups to the areas and people who need them.

In the chart below, we can see that Ford continues to crush other truckmakers with strong numbers for the month and year to date. Of note, the hot-selling Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup outsold the full lineup of GMC Sierra pickups, which comprises light- and heavy-duty trucks. Additionally, August was not kind to Ram, which was down nearly 7 percent for the month when compared to August 2016.

Others sales tales of note: The Chevrolet Colorado is challenging the full-size Toyota Tundra for the No. 6 spot on the chart. The Colorado started out strong at the beginning of the year and held the spot for two months before the Tundra overtook it. There's still a chance the Chevy can overtake the Toyota by year's end, but it will need to outsell Tundra by almost 1,000 units a month for the rest of the year.

Finally, we're not sure if August was an aberration or a harbinger of things to come for the aging Nissan Frontier, but it took a huge hit. We'll have to wait and see what kind of sales impact the weather has on September, if any at all. Fuel prices are climbing, there will be plenty of repairs and construction going on throughout the South, and incentives are not going away. With those realities looming, it will be interesting to watch how it all shakes out in September.

As for the Nissan Frontier.... That design is so long in the tooth, it's no wonder it's selling poorly compared to last year. Not sure why someone would even consider buying a new one vs. a used one a year or two old? I did read it's the number one truck.... on the buyers remorse list that is.

Nissan, bring that Navara over here already. That truck would be a great mid-size offering to the NA market.

Posted by: Brian in NC | Sep 1, 2017 1:56:55 PM

GM continually widening the truck sales gap over Ford.

Posted by: GMSRGREAT | Sep 1, 2017 1:57:59 PM

In half ton and up Ford is crushing General Malaise !!
In the junior ranks a mixed bag of nuts for GM ,Colorado up and Canyon way down. Of course Tacoma crushes the GM mini twins.

Why is Chevy up month after month and GMC down? Is GM trying to cut back to one truck brand? Any other explanations?

And what happened to the Ridgeline? Has Honda already filled up all the pent up demand for type of truck?

Nissan Titan is really picking up steam! They are up to almost 5% of the market leader! Seriously, how can they afford to keep the factory open with that little volume?

Posted by: Walt | Sep 1, 2017 2:12:48 PM

Is GM trying to cut back to one truck brand? Any other explanations? Posted by: Walt | Sep 1, 2017

What difference does it really make. GM sold almost 90k trucks in August 2017. That's more trucks than RAM, Toyota, Nissan and Honda put together.

Psst (it's also more trucks than Ford by about 10k). Don't tell the unhappy Ford boys. Yet.

Posted by: papajim | Sep 1, 2017 2:19:19 PM

@papajim. "What happened to the RAM overtaking Chevy story?"
Chevy has been having a non stop beyond fleet pricing firesale to sell those bed bending,thin skin, rust turds. Plenty of dopes are lured in by price, only to regret it later.

Shocking how much Ford's all-new F-150 is struggling against the Silverado/Sierra 1500 considering the 2014+ K2 trucks are just updated GMT900 trucks from all the way back in 2007. The Ranger isn't going to be enough to overtake GM when the 2019 GM half-tons hit the market.

Posted by: HD Ramking | Sep 1, 2017 2:20:53 PM

AS USUAL FORD IS THE NUMBER ONE TRUCK IN AMERICA AND MEXICO. GO FORD YOU ARE THE BEST.

Posted by: Chingon | Sep 1, 2017 2:29:03 PM

@ramtastic

Yeah, but, RAM is down for the month/month figure. Off by 6 percent.

What's with that?

Posted by: papajim | Sep 1, 2017 2:30:46 PM

@ramtastic

Yeah, but, RAM is down for the month/month figure. Off by 6 percent.

What's with that?

Posted by: papajim | Sep 1, 2017 2:30:47 PM

So sales are up 15% for the F-series and $3,400 gain in average transaction price for F-Series to $45,600 per vehicle and that is in big part to the Super Duty which is averaging $55,000 per vehicle up $5,500 and $7,000 more than
the average transaction pricing of the luxury segment and people say Ford is doing bad?

Posted by: David | Sep 1, 2017 2:37:38 PM

and people say Ford is doing bad?

@David

Ask Ford's shareholders about that.

Posted by: papajim | Sep 1, 2017 2:40:06 PM

FORD
Found On Road Dead

Posted by: Don | Sep 1, 2017 2:59:58 PM

and people say Ford is doing bad?

@David

Ask Ford's shareholders about that.

Papajim

Ford's cars are down and they are scrambling to do something about it. However, this site and discussion are about trucks. Ford is kicking tail with the F series on both volume and price.

Funny when ford does well so many people cry that it's all fleet sales and that those sales just "don't matter" or are even considered a negative thing. It's amazing how different people can see the same numbers and interpret them in completely different ways. I'm pretty sure all manufacturers would agree that Ford is having the most success right now when it comes to the pickup market. If you can't see that you are just denying the reality of the situation. Has nothing to do with who your favorite brand is. It's just the facts. Talk to an executive at Chevrolet or Fiat and they would be the first to admit that they are getting beat by ford right now when it comes to full size trucks. As for midsize you can argue all day about that and if ford made a mistake to wait so long to bring back the ranger. But nobody can deny that Ford is the full-size pickup truck sales king right now without looking foolish.

Not nearly as much red as Ford's stock has seen in the last 3 years. The stock lost over a 3rd of its value ever since the aluminum F-150 hit the showroom floor (aka the service bay).

Posted by: Rammins | Sep 1, 2017 4:17:40 PM

The Colorado sales are up. The new ZR2 is contributing to the numbers nicely.

Posted by: GMSRGREAT | Sep 1, 2017 4:19:27 PM

"I'm pretty sure all manufacturers would agree that Ford is having the most success right now when it comes to the pickup market. If you can't see that you are just denying the reality of the situation."

Why is this so hard to understand??? There is no "Chevrolet" plant or "GMC" plant. GM is a manufacturer, Ford is a manufacturer. GM makes and sells more trucks than Ford. YOU are in DENIAL.

"Talk to an executive at Chevrolet or Fiat and they would be the first to admit that they are getting beat by ford right now when it comes to full size trucks."

Oh how would one talk to an executive at "Chevrolet"? Chevrolet hasn't been a separate entity in the early 1900's. However, you could talk to a General Motors executive and they would tell you that GM has sold more trucks than Ford year-to-date. They would also admit that Ford sold more Ford brand trucks if that's important to you. Personally I don't care which brand of truck you're buying, as long as I'm the one selling it. Especially when more of those sales are retail when compared with Ford's fleet-heavy dependence.

"As for midsize you can argue all day about that and if ford made a mistake to wait so long to bring back the ranger."

There is no arguing. Ford completely misread the market and what customers wanted. GM saw an opportunity and have been raking in the sales for 3 years now, capturing
over 31% of the midsize market so far this year and taking nearly 20% of the Tacoma's market share away.

@Rammins
Are you an investor? I am thinking maybe you don't have any stock holdings and are a bit ignorant. Basic rule , you Rather may have tried to teach you- buy low, sell high. Ford is a great long term stock. If you bought it right in the early 90's and sold at peak in2000 you were smart. I did that and also bought in 2008 big time. I am very happy.

Posted by: Casual Observer of Fools | Sep 1, 2017 4:38:39 PM

Father, not Rather. Auto correct sucks, lol

Posted by: Casual Observer of Fools | Sep 1, 2017 4:39:36 PM

@Casual observer

Before you look any worse, you should take a look at the performance of Ford shares during the last 10 years. It ain't that great.

I don't know if you like this particular segment or not but there are several automakers whose stock is more attractive these days. Ford has made a number of poor predictions in the last ten years. They are very aggressive about the idea of electric and AI cars. We'll see how that works out.

Actually johnny dumdum was out on a date with his girlfriend GMSUCKS & secretly rented an F150 because of it's roomy back seat...HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Posted by: Lionel | Sep 1, 2017 4:58:02 PM

Yawn, nothing new here; Ford continues to crush the competition in sales with all +'s while shaky GOVT motor trucks get all the -'s...HAHAHAHA!!!

Keep following the leader for 41 yrs & counting :-))

Posted by: Lionel | Sep 1, 2017 5:01:38 PM

Yawn, nothing new here; Ford continues to crush the competition in sales with all +'s while shaky GOVT motor trucks get all the -'s...HAHAHAHA!!!

Keep following the leader for 41 yrs & counting :-))

Posted by: Lionel | Sep 1, 2017 5:01:40 PM

@Papa crackpot. My portfolio has made me plenty of money. I couldn't look better. As for you......? . Long term my friend, long term.
How did you do on that old GM stock? Hope you were not a bond holder.

Posted by: Casual Observer of Fools | Sep 1, 2017 5:08:32 PM

Ford, GM, and FCA have all taken a bath when it comes to car sales. Car sales are down and cuv, suv, and truck sales are up. Truck sales are what is keeping the profits for all 3. Ford and GM are in much better financial shape than FCA.

Posted by: Jeff S | Sep 1, 2017 6:08:09 PM

Are you an investor? I am thinking maybe you don't have any stock holdings and are a bit ignorant. Basic rule , you Rather may have tried to teach you- buy low, sell high. Ford is a great long term stock. If you bought it right in the early 90's and sold at peak in2000 you were smart. I did that and also bought in 2008 big time. I am very happy.

Posted by: Casual Observer of Fools | Sep 1, 2017 4:38:39 PM

I bought AMD shares back in Feb 2016 @$1.98. I sold it in June 2017 @ $13.95/share. I also previously bought shares of ARM Holdings back in 2010 @ $18, sold it in 2014 @ $45/share. I don't have much interest in investing in the automotive market. Especially not Ford haha.

Posted by: Rammins | Sep 1, 2017 7:05:38 PM

GM and Ram are throwing huge amounts of cash on the hood. That's how they're selling. If they were at the same transaction price as a Ford everyone would buy Ford. They've raised MSRPs to have sticker prices in line with Fords, just so they can slash more money off and end up cheaper, as they should be, both running older platforms and powertrains.

Brand loyalists aside, anyone who seriously compares the three and buys a GM or Ram does so not be cause they are better trucks, but because the actual purchase prices are lower (GM), or much lower (Ram).

Posted by: Matt | Sep 1, 2017 7:24:10 PM

I GUESS I'LL TAKE MY DOCTOR'S ADVICE AND TAKE THE STRONGER MEDICATION THAT HE WANT'S TO PUT ME ON. I MUST BE GOING CRAZY BECAUSE I STILL LIKE FORDS, CRAZY HEY. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Chingon | Sep 1, 2017 7:47:36 PM

anyone who seriously compares the three and buys a GM or Ram does so not be cause they are better trucks, but because the actual purchase prices are lower (GM), or much lower (Ram). Posted by: Matt | Sep 1, 2017

@Matt

so, what's the thing you like most about the Ford? Particularly if you plan to pay MORE to get it?

Posted by: papajim | Sep 1, 2017 8:02:37 PM

THE GARBAGE MOTORS FAN GIRLS ARE HURT BECAUSE THEIR JUNK COMPANY POST LOW SALES HAHAHAHAHAHA AND THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO RELEASE THEIR ANGER BY USING MY USARNAME AS THIR GUNSHOT. KEEP IT UP YOU FOOLS HAHAHAHAHAH.

Posted by: Chingon | Sep 1, 2017 11:10:01 PM

Brand loyalists aside, anyone who seriously compares the three and buys a GM or Ram does so not be cause they are better trucks, but because the actual purchase prices are lower (GM), or much lower (Ram).

After reading that article, how could you not buy a GM twin. GM has the most powerful v8 engines gas and diesel.

Posted by: GMSRGREAT | Sep 1, 2017 11:32:37 PM

I own a repair shop I love Ford's they keep me in business that is why I buy gm ford has yet to have a good motor they had a awesome diesel the 7.3 but they screwed that up also

Posted by: Steve | Sep 2, 2017 12:15:24 AM

I bought AMD shares back in Feb 2016 @$1.98. I sold it in June 2017 @ $13.95/share. I also previously bought shares of ARM Holdings back in 2010 @ $18, sold it in 2014 @ $45/share. I don't have much interest in investing in the automotive market. Especially not Ford haha.

Posted by: Rammins | Sep 1, 2017 7:05:38 PM

Nice! I made out pretty well on AMD too. I bought in @ $2.15/share. Helped pay down my college debt.

Posted by: Brick | Sep 2, 2017 1:24:45 AM

$45,600 per vehicle and that is in big part to the Super Duty which is averaging $55,000 per vehicle up $5,500 and $7,000 more than
the average transaction pricing of the luxury segment and people say Ford is doing bad?

Posted by: David | Sep 1, 2017 2:37:38 PM

4 of the 7 trims Ford offers on the 2018 F150 range in BASE PRICE from $51,000 to to nearly $61,000, and the F-250/350 can be optioned out to well over $70k. Considering roughly 30% of Ford's truck sales are low-rent XL/XLT trims destined for fleet duty, no it's not impressive. It means that buying a loaded Ford truck is a waste of money because your expensive King Ranch/Platinum/Limited trim truck is going to depreciate like a luxury sedan after Ford floods the used market with 2 or 3-year old, low mileage fleet trucks. Those trucks will be selling for a quarter of what your fancy high-priced trim cost. Not to mention your $60k truck features a Ford engine, meaning it's a ticking time bomb, just waiting to burn you with thousands of dollars in repairs. Doesn't matter which engine you pick, if it's a Ford, it will let you down with thrown rods, stretched timing chains, blown turbos, dead fuel pumps, junk oil pumps, junk water pumps, etc.

Posted by: Brawndo | Sep 2, 2017 1:46:31 AM

Truck sales are what is keeping the profits for all 3. Ford and GM are in much better financial shape than FCA.

Titan looks like a huge bust, it priced to high you can get a ram 3/4 for same price .

Posted by: Ron dieter | Sep 2, 2017 9:27:55 AM

If I was Ram I would be spending 90% of my advertising money in the state of Texas, that states buys 1/5 new trucks sold and with all the flooding can you imagine how many new trucks will be sold there in next year or two?

Posted by: Ron dieter | Sep 2, 2017 9:32:09 AM

With GM well in the lead for pickup sales in 2017 maybe Ford should consider a corporate restructuring that separates the product-development part of the company from the auto-manufacturing part.

The manufacturing companies don't have much upside but they don't have much risk either. The product dev side is the tricky part and it's where Ford's board has been clueless in recent years. Bring in some top product people to take over the development part of the company and put the suits in Dearborn in charge of manufacturing only.

two separate companies.

Posted by: papajim | Sep 2, 2017 10:16:34 AM

like for like ford is doing better than gm. there is no doubt that ford is GAINING market share in the fullsize pickup market. I guarantee GM is well aware of this and considers it a major problem. that is why they have had such great incentives this year. They are trying to stop the bleeding. It wasn't long ago GM sold more full size trucks than ford. now its not even close. Midsize is a totally different type of truck and you can't lump them in and say gm is doing better. the midsize gm trucks have been a success, but ford is not a player in that market. mistake? maybe. but with the trucks ford makes in the same categories they are doing better than gm and ram. if you can't see that you are blinded by fanboyism.